From fire to floods, extreme weather keeping students out of classrooms this school year

Students have been forced out of school due to extreme weather events this school year.

As the massive KNP Complex fire burned nearby in Sequoia National Park, Three Rivers Union School District Superintendent Susan Sherwood was in her school's gym trying to clear out the smoke with fans. The air quality had gotten so bad and students were coughing and complaining of burning eyes that she made the difficult choice to close the one-school California district for nearly two weeks -- the longest it's ever had to close due to a fire in her 26-year tenure.

"We've had fires before, but this is a big one," Sherwood told ABC News. "Everybody oohs and aahs at the lightning storms, but we don't. We say, Oh no -- fire."

The KNP Complex, which was ignited by lightning on Sept. 9, has burned over 49,000 acres and led to hazardous air quality conditions in the weeks since.

The smoke got so bad one day in mid-September that Sherwood decided to send the K-8 school's 100 students home to do independent study -- an option offered statewide this school year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Back in school this week, they have to wear masks indoors, per COVID-19 mitigation measures, and are encouraged to wear them outdoors too due to the ongoing wildfire, which is 11% contained.